Mali: and a tale of my clients

My grandmother never really understood my job.  I'd explain it to her over and over again but a perplexed look would still come over her face.  Nonetheless, she'd brightly exclaim encouraging somethings like, Well that certainly sounds useful!  But I could tell she never got it.

I once met a woman at a cocktail party.  She told me she was in Morocco on a research assignment.  I pressed her for more details and she gave me the look of someone who had been avoiding questions.  Then she answered that she was studying mule sperm {!}.  Frankly, I think my grandmother would have been satisfied with that answer:-)

I'm currently working in Mali on a civic education project funded by USAID; the project touches over a million people.  We partner with community radio hosts and traditional communicators (professional story tellers and messengers) to promote messages of peace, tolerance, women's participation and good citizenship.

Here is a glimpse of some of my partners and project beneficiaries.

Have you ever been to Mali?  To Africa?  Would you want to go?  

Mali: and a tale of beauty and architecture

I’ve never been a fan of Bamako.  The streets caked with dirt, the piles of torn plastic bags, the pollution.  Almost comical is the ubiquitous 1970s-style overstuffed furniture sitting by the side of the main streets – waiting, waiting to be sold to lovers of brown velour.

No, I’ve always preferred to get out of the Malian capital and drive hours away.  There you can see clusters of tidy huts, fascinating in their organic precision. 

Or buildings with elements of Malian grandeur– spires and towers. 

Or perhaps most beautiful yet, the carved structures,brutalist and yet elegant with their sinuous lines and geometric cut outs. 

Can you imagine {really} living differently than you do?  In a yurt?  A camel hair tent? A mud hut?  The world through those windows might be so different.

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PS Just a few days left for free shipping on carpets & textiles at Red Thread Souk.  Take advantage of it while you can!

Morocco: and a tale of bringing the Moroccan souk to you!

Friends,

It's my birthday today!  Oui!

I wanted to celebrate this year with some Moroccan gorgeous, with some ethnic chic, with some exotic glamour.  Yes, I wanted to celebrate by bringing the Moroccan souk right to you! So for the first time ever, I'm offering free shipping (to North America and Europe) on Moroccan carpets and rugs (including Beni Ouarain) and Moroccan wedding blankets (known as handira) in Red Thread Souk.  This is a huge savings!  And the exotic beauty of these pieces is truly awe inspiring.  {Fresh stock of incredible sequined flatweaves or kilims are especially enchanting}.

Take a peek:

 

Check out all my stock right here.  And take advantage of the free shipping while it lasts!

            your friend in an olive grove in Marrakesh,

            Maryam 

PS I also offer a payment plan if there is something you love but can't afford to pay all just yet!  

Some places: and a tale of the unbearable truth

I'm a woman who looks for beauty wherever I go.  And I always find it.  But I see the rest, too.  The poverty, the sadness, the dirt. The malaria, the pollution, the crime. Sometimes {almost} the only {and best} beautiful thing is the people.  It's the unbearable truth for me in Bangui, in Dhaka, in Bamako, and in Addis Abbaba.

I left last week for Mali.  Here a glimspe of the beautiful people.

PS It's a special day for me tomorrow and I'll have a special offer.....Oui!  So please come visit!